South Korea's main stock market is reeling from growing concerns over the global spread of the novel coronavirus. 

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) fell to one-thousand-729-point-61 as of 1:43 p.m., down 104-point-72 points or five-point-71 percent from the previous close.

A circuit breaker was put in place for the main bourse and trading was suspended for 20 minutes when the index plunged more than eight percent.

Earlier in the day, a similar move was also introduced for the secondary KOSDAQ market.